If you're a Santa Clarita first-time homebuyer that scrambled to get into escrow by April 30, 2010, and are currently struggling to close that escrow by June 30, 2010, in order to get your "up-to" $8,000 tax credit, you may be relieved to know that the Senate has just approved the extension of the June 30, 2010 deadline. Your escrow, once the house and senate reconcile and pass the same bill, will be able to close by September 30, 2010, and you will still get your $8,000 tax credit.
This is good news for all of the first-time homebuyers who are stuck in slow-going escrows that may not be able to close by the current deadline. Some of the escrows could be moving slow due to the many backed up lenders trying to fund all of the loans created by the avalanche of homebuyers who scrambled to buy a home (meaning be under contract and open escrow) by the April 30, 2010 deadline. Also, many of the homebuyers had no choice but to place offers, and open up escrows on short sales, since there are so many short sales in Santa Clarita, and the entire country for that matter. Short sales are notorious for being slow, and can take many months to close successfully.
The National Association of Realtors, along with Congress, didn't want to see upwards of 180,000 first-time homebuyers lose out on the Federal Tax Credit simply because a deadline passed. These homebuyers jumped through many hoops in order to find their home and successfully negotiate a home into escrow. That is no small feat, especially in low inventory, hot markets like Santa Clarita, where first-time homebuyers are the David, and the many Investors are the Goliath, with their generally larger and more attractive down payments.
For more information on the Senate's action, check out our SCVRealEstate360 Episode that we posted yesterday, here at SCREF, and keep checking back for more information on the finalization of this bill that Congress is trying to pass, which this deadline extension is a part of.
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